
DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997             TAG: 9703120656

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  103 lines

LITTLE BIG MEN ODU'S GUARDS ROSE TO THE OCCASION IN THE CAA TOURNEY. FOR OLD DOMINION TO ADVANCE IN THE NCAAS, BRION DUNLAP, MIKE BYERS AND E.J. SHEROD MUST COME THROUGH AGAIN.

En guard, it's NCAA tournament time.

You hear the same refrain at this time every year: Guard play is critical in the tournament.

``They have the ball and they control tempo,'' Old Dominion coach Jeff Capel said. ``They control the big plays, and they have to make big plays.

``When you're in a one and done situation, the man with the basketball is critical.''

The Monarchs, a No. 14 seed in the East Regional, will have to get good backcourt play to have a chance against third-seeded New Mexico Friday (7:40 p.m., WTKR) in Pittsburgh.

Inconsistent at times this year, ODU's little guys Brion Dunlap and Mike Byers came up big in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

Dunlap averaged 10.7 points and four rebounds - both well above his season averages - and 4.7 assists. Byers averaged 12 points and 2.3 steals. They shot a combined 49 percent from the field and outscored opposing starting guards 68-51 in the tournament.

Junior point guard Dunlap played 121 of a possible 125 minutes in Richmond; sophomore shooting guard Byers played 110. No other Monarch played more than 95.

Senior utility man E.J. Sherod - who plays anywhere from point guard to power forward - also made big contributions in the tournament, especially on defense.

``Odell (Hodge) was the most valuable player of the tournament, but those two guys were on the all-tournament team,'' Capel said of Dunlap and Byers. ``Definitely the play of our guards has given us the opportunity to play in the postseason.''

CAA Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American Hodge is unmistakably the heart of ODU's team. But a heart doesn't function properly without veins to supply the blood.

The lifeblood of effective post play is the entry pass.

``Even if you have a dominant big man like Odell, we get him the ball and dictate the tempo of the game,'' Byers said.

``We handle the ball most of the time, we have control of it,'' Dunlap said. ``To me, it's a guard's game anyway. Everybody wants to be like a guard.''

Generally in basketball, everybody wants to shoot. But that's never been the case with Dunlap. Much of his three years as ODU's starting point guard, Dunlap has eschewed wide open jumpers in favor of a pass. That's enabled many ODU opponents to lay off him and double-team the Monarchs' primary offensive threats.

But Dunlap has become a threat. He's scored nearly half of his season's points (80 of 176) the past nine games. Capel has often implored Dunlap to take the open shots, and he's finally doing it.

``There were games where maybe Mike and I should have stepped up more,'' Dunlap said. ``But down the stretch, we were consistent enough to get us into the NCAA tournament.''

ODU will face a three-guard lineup in its tournament opener with New Mexico. The size of Lobos Lamont Long (6-foot-4), David Gibson (6-2) and Charles Smith (6-4) could present matchup problems for the 5-11 Dunlap and the 6-2 Byers.

Another problem is the perimeter-oriented game of New Mexico power forward Clayton Shields, who averages three 3-pointers per game. The matchup problems the Lobos present mean Sherod could see significant time in a three-guard ODU lineup.

``We faced a lot of three-guard lineups in the conference,'' Sherod said. ``As far as New Mexico's athletic ability and the way they shoot the ball, I don't think we've seen that from all three guards.''

The bottom line is ODU's guards must step up for the Monarchs to step into the second round.

PREGAME SOCIAL: The Old Dominion Alumni Association is sponsoring a pregame dinner buffet Friday at the Marriott City Center across from the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Cost is $15 per person. For reservations call 683-4444. ILLUSTRATION: [Color photos]

HUY NGUYEN/File photo

Shooting Guard Mike Byers

MARTIN SNMITH_RODDEN/File photo

Point guard Brion Dunlap

HUY NGUYEN/File photo

Swingman E.J. Sherod, right

ODU MEN UPDATE

The Old Dominion men's basketball team, seeded 14th in the East,

will be in Pittsburgh this weekend for its sub-regional.

Friday: ODU (22-10) vs. No. 3 seed New Mexico (24-7), 7:40 p.m.

(WTKR)

Sunday: ODU-New Mexico winner vs. Louisville-Massachusetts